Southwest Finland

Southwest Finland
Varsinais-Suomi
Varsinais-Suomen maakunta
landskapet Egentliga Finland
Region

Flag
Coat of arms

Finland Proper on a map of Finland
Country Finland
Historical province Finland Proper
Area
 • Total 10,910.05 km2 (4,212.39 sq mi)
Population (2011)
 • Total 470,880
 • Density 43/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+3 (EEST)
ISO 3166 code FI-19
NUTS 183
Regional bird Jackdaw
Regional fish Baltic herring
Regional flower Oak
Website varsinais-suomi.fi

Southwest Finland or, officially, Varsinais-Suomi, also known as Finland Proper[1] (Finnish: Varsinais-Suomi, Swedish: Egentliga Finland) is a region in the south-west of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), and Uusimaa. The region's capital and most populous city is Turku.

The area comprising the southwest is largely the same as the historical province of Finland Proper, so named because it is the original home of the tribe known as the Finns.

Origin of the name

The name of Finland Proper has a historical function. In historic times, in the area of the present southern Finland lived three tribes, which were the Finns, the Tavastians and the Karelians. The southwestern part of the country, the province where the Finns lived, was called simply Finland (Finnish: Suomi). In the 17th century the name began to be used to refer to the whole land and a specified name for the lesser Finland was required. The first notes Fennigia specialiter dicta and Fennigia presse dicta were recorded in Latin in the 1650s and the Swedish Finland för sig sielft and Egenteliga Finland later in the 18th century the modern form Egentliga Finland being in official use at the end of the century. The Finnish term Varsinais-Suomi became established only around the 1850s.[2]

Historical provinces

Municipalities

Finland Proper Sub-regions, towns and municipalities

The region of Southwest Finland is made up of 27 municipalities, of which 11 have city status (marked in bold).

Politics

Results of the Finnish parliamentary election, 2015 in Finland Proper:

Heraldry

The region uses the coat of arms of the historical province of Finland Proper.

Notes

  1. ↑ The regional council of the region uses the name "Southwest Finland". Despite this, the Language Planning Department of Finland recommends the name "Varsinais-Suomi" as suggested in the statement by the Ministry of the Interior of Finland in 1999. The Institute for the Languages of Finland lists the official English name as "Varsinais-Suomi".
  2. ↑ Suomalainen paikannimikirja. Jyväskylä: Gummerus. 2007. ISBN 978-951-593-976-0.
  3. ↑ "Ennakkoväkiluku kuukausittain sukupuolen mukaan alueittain, elokuu 2018" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 21 October 2018.

Finland Proper travel guide from Wikivoyage

Coordinates: 60°30′N 22°45′E / 60.500°N 22.750°E / 60.500; 22.750

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